Finally iPhone

Thanks to my cool Slacker Bro and my friend Sharzie Pie I'm now in possession of my new iPhone. And boy am I just so cool! As only a dork can be. Heh. And here I am updating my blog from the cute little device

Never a Dull Moment

Life just never stops throwing things your way, good and bad. Right now it's more of the latter. My step-grandmother went into the hospital just before Christmas, but I didn't check my voicemail for a week and didn't learn about it until the Sunday after Christmas. So, this week I've come up each day to see her (about an hour drive north from SF). She's doing much better and is now home recuperating. She had to have some major surgery, but thankfully the problem that caused the necessity of the surgery is cleared up and now she just has to heal.

I stayed over last night so her first night at home she would have someone she knew taking care of her. My plan was to go back to work this morning. The California Storm of the Decade, however, got in my way. And, despite all the warning signs telling me to stay here (my car keys had gone missing, my grandmother's car battery was dead, requiring a jump start) I still got on 101 and headed south. When I got to Novato traffic came to a complete stop and then crawled for the next few miles -- oh, just about an hour or so. Ugh. I got off in San Rafael in dire need of a toilet and food. While loitering in Starbucks dreading the rest of the trip back to the city, I learned that the Richmond Bridge was closed, part of 101 closed just south of San Rafael and that there were problems with one of the routes through the city once you crossed the GG Bride.

So, I shrugged my shoulders and headed back north to my grandmothers. I'll spend tonight and go home tomorrow. Guess the Universe just wanted me to stay with Lucy another night, which is fine. It's better for her.

Back to the Salt Mines

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2008 is here and will be for a while, so let's make the most of the next 365 days!

But in the real world... Argh, back to work tomorrow after a nice long weekend. Whoever thought working for a living was a good idea was a sick f*ck*r.

New Year's Eve was very nice. Went down to Ocean Beach to watch the sunset and to give an offering to a pagan goddess (goddess of the New Year and the ocean). It was a beautiful sunset and we enjoyed the bonfire, the company of friends and strangers, and several cups of champagne.

Then I headed to the German's house for the evening. Only a handful of us were there, so we had a relaxing evening eating, drinking and playing poker. While I was consistently giving up my chips, at the very end of the night I called a pot in Acey-Ducey which put me in the green and ahead $6.

And now I must go sleep so I can be rested for our first day back at work. Blech.

Almost the New Year

Today was a day of make-up shopping. Now, for those of you who know me, you may think to yourself, "Uh, you don't really wear make-up." Yes, that's true, but I still have that socialized feminine quality that makes me want to at least have make-up so that if I wanted to wear it I'd have it to wear. Plus, I got a gift-card for lots of dollars to Sephora, the beauty store that sells all sorts of make-up products under one roof. So, SP and I, with Gabe in tow, went shopping.

Here is a list of my sucker purchases...
Face cleanser -- supposedly to help reduce the redness in my cheeks, made with Soy and roses.
Face powder -- from Bare Essentials. Better for my skin? Will create a nice even skin tone. Had to buy a fancy "Kabuki" brush ($28) for proper application.
Gel eyeliner, in bronze -- oh, who knows what I was thinking, but I had to buy a brush for this item, too ($13).
Fancy Lancôme mascara -- okay, this is nice mascara.
Lip Gloss -- cause I had a sample and I liked it so I went with a regular thing of the goopy stuff.

I won't mention how much I spent on top of the gift card.

It goes without saying I was beautiful to start with, but I sure did look fancy after putting all this stuff on my face. If only I can motivate myself to put some of it on in the morning -- really. Make-up is different now then when I was younger -- they put stuff it in that is actually good for your skin, like sun block and natural minerals .

Did I do any other shopping? Sure. We were on Union Street after all. We went in to this great little shop that sold all sorts of shawls and scarves, like pashminas and what not. They were lovely and I very nearly bought a pretty blue shawl -- I'm still tempted. We also went to a toy store for Gabe, where I picked up Othello. Anyone want to play?

Then we had an early dinner and went over to see some of my friend's new art work -- self-portraits done in charcoal. Really spectacular. I can't remember his website right now, but I'll post it later.

But, I have to tell you, the highlight of the day was singing in the car with Gabe and SP -- in meows. Because, as an old Swedish Proverb says, "Those who wish to sing always find a song."

But now, here I am in bed, my face freshly scrubbed, moisturized, and eye-treated ready for sleep after all this shopping!

Eons and Eons and Eons

Okay, yes, it has been eons since I updated my blog. I've wanted to. Really, I did! I've just been so busy. I can hear it now: "Yeah, right, sure you've been busy. You're just lazy. You just don't want to do this blog thing anymore. Whatever ."

So, just to set things right, here is the update:

* Work is hell. December and January will probably be the worst two months of this project. 12 hour days and weekends are the norm.

** Had my 40th Birthday! Woo Hoo!!! I don't look or act 40, so all is good in my world. Had a big party at my place and then on the actual day, went to Gary Danko's for a dinner that was just lovely.

*** Got promoted.

**** Had another Thanksgiving Dinner that couldn't be beat (see picture below).

***** Went to an awesome Christmas Party at my friend's house.

****** Spent Christmas Day with my Slacker Bro. Played WoW. Had yummy crab cakes for dinner.

Now I'm caught up.

We're supposed to have the week between Christmas and New Year's off, but I'll be helping the team out as the prepare to go live with Human Resources in our new system. Please let it all go well... I don’t want us to go the way of Arizona State, though I can say that we have tested and tested and compared and compared person by person by person by person.

No real plans for New Year's yet. Probably just hang out with the Germans or some other friends. I'll worry about it later. :-)


Roberto titled this picture, "Down it Goes", and boy is it going down... and all the excited expressions can do nothing to stop the great Jenga collapse. This is what comes after eating another Thanksgiving dinner (just before Christmas) and consuming large quantities of wine and spirits... yes, Jenga. Welcome to my world.

Turkey Day Passeth

Thanksgiving went well. Andreas, Esther and I cooked dinner and then Thomas and Ben came by to eat. We all got to sit at the table, eat tasty food (turkey breast braised with burboun, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, salad with pomegrante), drink lots of wine, have entertaining conversation. Then we watched The Jungle Book, with Andreas translating the whole thing to Ben (that was entertainment in and of itself). Around 7:30 the rest of the gang arrived for pumpkin and apple pies and more wine. By 9:30 people were gone and I was passed out from food and wine overload. All in all a good day.

Today, well, I didn't do anything! Watched some TV. Played WoW for far too long -- lvld my new character to 17 (I created a human pally, Pirjo, on another server and joined my friends guild). Went through Deadmines in a flash of an eye -- so fast that I couldn't even keep up with the bodies. I suppose that's all I can expect when a lvl 70 is along for the ride. Managed to get some nice weapons, though, and Pirjo is now sporting a blue mace that she will do serious damage with. Plus, lots of items to sell in the AH and lots of extra cash! Ah, the benefits of a guild!

Turkey Day Cometh

Home Entertainment Update: On Sunday I managed to set up my new TV. It was an adventure. Sure enough, Andreas was able and willing to help me get the TV into the house -- which he carried in himself. Getting the old TV out was another task not so easily accomplished. First, the old thing weights a lot! Even with the two of us it was hard to get out to the car. Then, of course, we couldn't fit it into the Germans new-used -- heh -- bright green, window-tinted Cavalier (ewwww). We were, luckily, able to get it into the front set of my car, so now the Germans have a nice TV for their use while here. But we are not getting any younger, that's for sure. Andreas pulled a muscle in his neck and my back is just starting to relax days later. Ah, well, such is life.

My new TV looks beautiful. I was worried about the TV picture, but it's okay. Movies look really good and, of course, the computer connection is awesome.

Turkey Day Planning: I left work early today so I could get to the store before it got too crazy. Once again I have bought way too much food and spent more money than I should. I just can't help myself. I love entertaining and I'm too lazy to go to a bunch of different stores to get the groceries. Andronico's is great, but it ain't cheap! It is money well spent, though. I got a nice Turkey Breast (I found a recipe on epicurean.com that looks tasty without too much work), fish for Esther, stuffing, potatoes for mashing, 5 bottles of wine, two pies, beans, carrots, cheese, crackers, blah blah blah. It will be a lot of food. Only the Germans will be over for dinner, but my usual crew will show up for dessert. By the end of the evening there will be about 12 of us enjoying each other's company.

On that note, I send out joyful greetings and wish all of you who read my blog a Happy Thanksgiving and I send much affection.